Excedrin Headache #1,367
Allan Rolnick, CPA What do sophisticated tax cheats, drug cartel money launderers, Russian potash oligarchs, and quite possibly you all have in common? Well, if you operate your business as a partnership, corporation, or limited liability company, you’re all about to find yourself caught up in a sticky new web of Grade A federal red […]
Giant Vacuums in the Sky
Allan Rolnick, CPA For decades, growing numbers of scientists have warned that burning fossil fuels is pumping dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. This has prompted research into “geoengineering” – using technology to manipulate the environment to offset the alleged effects of climate change. Naturally, capitalism would like a word or two […]
No Place Like Home
Allan Rolnick, CPA Generations ago, you only saw into your neighbor’s home if they invited you in for apple pie and dessert. Or maybe you were able to catch a glimpse of their den if they left their shades open after dark. But Zillow has changed all that. Now, you can tour the fanciest home […]
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Allan Rolnick, CPA What’s the last thing you want to read about for fun, and why is it taxes? Writing about taxes is easy. Every day, there’s something worth reporting. Someone is always introducing legislation. The IRS is always issuing regulations. The Tax Court is always issuing opinions. Several news outlets, including Bloomberg, Politico, and […]
Mind the Gap
Allan Rolnick, CPA Last week, the IRS announced that the “tax gap”—the difference between the amount of taxes Americans legally owed and the amount they actually paid—grew to $688 billion for 2021. That’s a lot more than a few pizza shop owners skimming out of the cash drawer. With Uncle Sam routinely running trillion-dollar deficits, […]
Your Check is Not in the Mail
Allan Rolnick, CPA Last week marked the final final final 2022 tax filing deadline for everyone who filed an extension back in April and doesn’t have the good fortune to live in an area affected by certain hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, or other natural disasters. If you live in parts of Louisiana affected by seawater […]
Don’t Do the Crime If You Can’t Do the Time
Allan Rolnick, CPA Last year, Americans earned about $21.8 trillion in personal income. Uncle Sam stepped in to intercept $4.9 trillion of that haul in personal income taxes. Now, moving nearly a quarter out of every dollar America earns to Uncle Sam’s pocket is a pretty monumental task. So, our Internal Revenue Service works to […]
Don’t Do the Crime If You Can’t Do the Time
Allan Rolnick, CPA Americans are raised from childhood to believe that crime doesn’t pay. But any adult who opens their eyes realizes crime actually pays quite well. As Glenn Frey sang in his 1985 hit, Smuggler’s Blues, “It’s the lure of easy money, it’s got a very strong appeal.” And so a Ponzi schemer buys […]
Penalty on the Field
Allan Rolnick, CPA The weather is cooling and the rain has started to pour, and that means Official Tax Planning Season™ is in full swing. But instead of thinking about savings, millions of taxpayers are celebrating something else. No, it’s not pumpkin spice. It’s football! High schools play on Friday nights. Colleges play on Saturdays. […]
Husband Hunters
Allan Rolnick, CPA From 1874 through the early 1900s, hundreds of fabulously rich American heiresses crossed the Atlantic to find love—or at least suitable marriage— with titled British peers. These so-called “dollar princesses” included Jennie Jerome (mother of future Prime Minister Winston Churchill), Consuelo Vanderbilt (Mrs. Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough), and Mary Leiter […]
